Without question the rarest vase in Just Art Pottery Auctions current auction ending March 6, 2011 is the Roseville vase decorated with fish. The vase is a one-of-a-kind example of hand-decorated
Roseville pottery at its best. The vase descended through the family of a Roseville Pottery employee and this is the first time it has been offered for sale.
There are eight raised fish and seaweed around the perimeter of the vase. The fish are finished in a glossy pearl glaze. The base glaze is textured, mottled and rough finished in shades of green and blue with copper highlights. The Roseville vase stands right at 10″ tall and 6″ wide. When we received the vase from the estate there were three small and harmless base edge chips. These chips have been professionally restored. The rare Roseville vase is being offered at no reserve with a low starting bid of $2,500. The pre-sale estimate on the vase is $5,000 to $7,500.
Below is the interesting story of the history of the Roseville vase as told by a member of the Fraunfelter family.
We received four Roseville vases from Helen Fraunfelter Fogle in 1990. Helen was the daughter of George Elias Fraunfelter, who ran Fraunfelter China until it was forced into bankruptcy in the late1930’s. She was the granddaughter of Charles D. Fraunfelter, who worked for Roseville Pottery as Sales Manager until 1915 when he purchased the Ohio Pottery Company which eventually became Fraunfelter China. Charles D. Fraunfelter’s wife’s uncle was George Emerson who was President of Roseville Pottery in 1899.
Helen Fogle had an eye for collecting and she came into possession of the four Roseville vases upon the death of George Elias Fraunfelter (George was the principal heir of George Emerson). Two of the vases bear the “Mongol” imprint on the bottom. The vase with the fish intrigued my aunt as she said she had not seen anything like it. It was her wish that I distribute three pieces to her nieces and nephew and retain the Roseville vase with the fish.
Bidding on the Roseville Fish Vase or 150 additional pieces of American art pottery is currently available in the online auction between now and March 6, 2011 at Auctions.JustArtPottery.com or Proxibid.com/JustArtPottery.
For more information on Just Art Pottery Auctions, or if you would like to inquire about consignments for upcoming auctions, please visit our website or contact Greg Myroth at greg@justartpottery.com.
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